News for January 19,
2001

JCTDU news

Team Saeco Macchine per Caffé has made a strong impression on the
JCTDU so far, winning both road stages and being placed second and third
overall in the general classification. Galletti's win in yesterday's
165 km headwind slog from McLaren
Vale to Victor Harbor was a result of director, Antonio Salutini's
tactics:

"Australians are further ahead physically than us, so we couldn't
control the race in order to defend Sacchi's yellow jersey. We then
decided to get through the breakaways and Alessio did it the best way!"

Galletti escaped only after 9 kilometres with Australian Steve Cunningham
and the pair gained a maximum advantage of over 15 minutes before Galletti
rode away from Cunningham with 70 kilometres to go. He finished 3.18
ahead of the bunch, calling it "an immense satisfaction...I couldn't
believe my eyes when I saw all those green-white-red flags on the finish
line."

He was commenting on the many Italian immigrants who were on the finish
line to support their riders. The Italians aren't the only people who
are out to cheer the race on. Across the fairly barren Fleurieu Peninsula
yesterday, it seemed as though wherever there was the slightest hint
of population, they were out in support of the race, enjoying the hell
out of it. This is certainly a big event for South Australia.

Lotto sick

As the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under reached its halfway point in
Victor Harbor yesterday, there were already some riders who were feeling
the effects of either too little or too much early season racing. The
Lotto team has been hit by a virus, forcing the withdrawal of Jeroen
Blijlevens and Nico Eeckhout.

For Blijlevens it was a particularly hard blow, as he will have to
serve a one month suspension beginning in February. A win, or at least
some quality racing miles, would have been a more auspicious start for
2001. Kurt Van Lanker is also infected, with headaches and pains in
his legs. It is not sure whether he will start in today's stage 4.

Prior to the start of stage 3 yesterday, UCI president Hein Verbruggen
spared some time for cyclingnews.com to give his comments on the race,
the first time that he has seen it. He said that he was "very impressed
with the Tour Down Under. The organisation is better than a lot of the
big European races, and the promotion by the government is excellent...I
should have come here earlier."

Verbruggen was adamant that the only place on the calendar for the
race was in January, as the UCI wished to see more races in the Southern
Hemisphere at this time of year.

Today's stage

Stage 4 will take
the riders on a 157 kilometre journey from Unley, just outside of Adelaide,
to Strathalbyn. The main climb of the day is Old Willunga Hill (km 73),
and we should see an aggressive stage. The heat could be a crucial factor
though: a maximum of 39 degrees is predicted for Adelaide and surrounds
(issued at 5:30am this morning) and this is sure to add to the suffering.

Of course, you can follow the stage live from your desktop via cyclingnews.com's
10-15 minute live
updates - don't miss a thing!

2002 Luxembourg
Tour start confirmed

The 2002 Tour de France will start in Luxembourg. It will the second
time in its history that the Tour has started in the tiny country that
snuggles into the corner of the borders of France, Germany and Belgium.
The Tour visited Luxembourg during the famous 1989 edition in which
Pedro Delgado was late for the prologue and Greg Lemond beat Laurent
Fignon by eight seconds. Three years later in 1992 it was the scene
of Miguel Indurain's punishing victory in the time trial, that secured
him the whole Tour.

In an agreement signed Thursday between the Societé du Tour de France
and the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg will stage both the 6.5km prologue
on July 7 and the 195km first stage. The remainder of the route is yet
to be announced, but it would be very straightforward for the race to
detour into Germany. Luxembourger Charly Gaul, winner of the 1958 Tour,
was in attendance for the signing ceremony.

Ullrich's training
plans stolen

A bag belonging to Jan Ullrich's personal coach Peter Becker was stolen
from the Telekom training camp in Majorca on Wednesday. The bag contained
the Telekom team leader's personal training plans as well as some valuable
items of Becker's.

Becker had briefly left the bag at the side of the road while he waited
for a Telekom team vehicle. "I just hope the training plans don't fall
into the hands of the competition," Becker said. "The rest of the things
that were in the bag are not so important."

Thijs hopes

Erwin Thijs was given a three month suspension after high levels of
caffeine were found in his urine during the Belgian Championships last
year. His new team, Lotto-Adecco, immediately fired him and he has yet
to find a new team.

However, Thijs doesn't believe he was guilty. "The caffeine level
was only just over the limit. I was taking a product for bronchitis
that contained caffeine. I am waiting for the decision of the disciplinary
commission, but I may have to take it to the State Council."

St Helens track
carnival preview

Tasmania's track cycling summer series looms to a close this weekend
with the 48th annual running of the St Helens Athletic Club Carnival.
Many of Tasmania's cyclists, runners and axemen treat the carnival as
an end-of-season jaunt, but the reality is, there is almost $10,000
in prizemoney on offer.

For the cyclists, the main event is the $1200 Trevor Richards Memorial
St Helens Wheelrace. To be raced over 2000 m, the St Helens Wheel has
attracted 54 senior cyclists, including Tasmanian scratchmen Darren
Young, Nathan Clarke and Gareth Atkins. However there is serious doubt
as to whether Young or Clarke will be able to make the trip to St Helens.

Young has work commitments in Melbourne and Clarke is currently competing
in the Oceania Games
in Sydney and may be unable to organise connecting flights to Launceston,
which therefore will enable him to get to St Helens in time for carnival
start time.

If Young and Clarke don't make, that would leave Atkins - the former
Launceston and dual Rosebery Wheel winner - stranded on scratch and
almost certainly without any reasonable chance of victory in the 2000
m St Helens Wheel. With only Swiss rider Franco Marvulli (30 m), Stephen
Rossendell (40 m), John Abblitt (50) and recently crowned Launceston
Wheel champ Caleb Manion (70 m) the only other "recognised" riders behind
100 m, victory in St Helens is therefore likely to go the front markers.

With that in mind, the main chances could be Brendon Geale (110 m),
veteran Laurie Venn (130 m), youngster Mark Jamieson (90 m), or promising
Devonport duo Shawn Denney (190 m) and Simon Elliott (200 m) to greet
the judge for the $800 first prize spoils.

The St Helens Athletic Club have also included a 1000 m Lightning
Handicap, scratch races and invitational events for all senior riders,
while there will also be handicap and scratch races for Tasmania's promising
junior cyclists. Starring in junior ranks at the moment are Brett Schnitzerling,
Natasha Mapley, Jarrod Harman, Carrie Douglas, John Rayner, Adam Mapley-Morris,
Ben Fielding, Carrie Price, Ben Laskey and Matthew Bonham.

Tasmania's next major track cycling carnival will be held in Devonport
on January 26 and hosted by the Mersey Valley - Devonport Cycling Club.

Report by Rod Morris/Morris Media

Luxembourg World's
team

Four riders will represent Luxembourg in the World Cyclocross Championships
in Tabor, Czech Republic on Febreuary 4, 2001.

Budget boost
for Rabobank

Sponsor Rabobank has decided to spend around 3 million guilders (US$1.3
million) more on its team in 2002 and 2003. The decision was made in
late 1999, so it was not possible for the extra funding to be made available
for the 2001 season.

Rabobank directeur sportif Adri van Houwelingen: "I hope everybody
doesn't expect the same results from us in 2001 as in previous years.
We lost riders like Leon van Bon, Rolf Sörensen and Niki Aebersold.
Objectively our team is weaker, especially in the cobblestone-classics.
But with Michael Boogerd, Erik Dekker, Maarten den Bakker, Marc Wauters
and the brothers Zberg we can do a lot in the coming season too."

Two years ago Rabobank had the World Cup champion and was second in
the UCI rankings, but this year the emphasis is different. "You can't
expect that from us this season. We chose younger riders and now we
really hope they will develop."

For the last five years Rabobank hasn't developed any espoir talent,
but new riders like Karsten Kroon, Addy Engels, Bram de Groot and Matthé
Pronk will be in the picture in the coming months. "We expect results
from these guys now," van Houwelingen confirms. "They have had two or
three years on the pro circuit, so now they have to show themselves
in the finals. When you are 25 or 26, your time comes."

Michael Boogerd is still the real leader in the training campaign.
"I'm still leading the training sessions. I had a good winter. Next
week we will do an intensive training camp in Italy."

Erik Dekker can't follow the top eight and trains in 'group two'.
But he's not panicking. "I have trained more up to now than last year.
I will be there in February. I can say all successes of last year were
lucky ones [three stages in the Tour de France, the San Sebastian world
cup and the Ronde van Nederland], but facts don't lie. In Milan-San
Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Luik-Bastenaken-Luik and the Amstel Gold
Race I will play a big role in the race. I know I'm healthy and that
is the only thing which counts. So I don't care that I can't follow
the best in our training camps at the moment."

Mercury-Viatel
training camp

The Mercury machine finally got out on the roads of Woodland Hills,
CA as the women's Autotrader.com squad, the junior and under 23 riders
from the development program combined with the men's professional squad
in a monster training group. The riders trained for 95 kilometres along
the Pacific Coast Highway, giving the juniors and U23's ample opportunity
to talk to experienced pro's, Peter van Petegem and Leon van Bon.

The training camp will end on January 24, with more riding, physiological
testing and photo sessions being planned.

Mercury Tour
cancelled for 2001

The National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) announced on Thursday
that the Mercury Tour will not take place in 2001. The year 2000 marked
the end of the Mercury Tour's four-year corporate sponsorship contracts,
but NORBA has been unable to secure sponsorship in time to plan or execute
the event in 2001. The August 31 deadline for placement on the Union
Cycliste Internationale (UCI) race calendar was also a factor.

NORBA Managing Director Leslie Klein emphasized a mountain bike stage
race is not off the calendar forever. "NORBA would very much like to
hold a UCI calendar stage race in the United States. One of NORBA's
goals for 2001 is to secure the sponsorship necessary to host one in
2002," Klein said. "We know the race has been a highlight for many professional
teams and racers, and we hope to relaunch an event of this caliber."

Klein expressed NORBA's appreciation for the hard work and support
of those involved with the Mercury Tour: race organizer Len Pettyjohn,
title sponsor Mercury, presenting sponsor and broadcast partner Outdoor
Life Network and venue host Steamboat Springs Ski Resort.

SIME confident of UCI
leniency

Despite missing the December 12 cut-off for UCI team registrations,
it may not be all over for the Spanish SIME squad. SIME manager Vicente
Martinez says he is confident that the Executive Committee of the UCI
will approve the registration of his team, which was delayed by the
late signing of its major sponsor. "Certainly there are deadlines for
these things," he said" but when the result would be good for cycling,
I believe they are not so strict."

The committee of the UCI meets today or tomorrow to consider SIME's
case, which is that the sponsor was unable to sign until the end of
the year, and Martinez did not want to find himself with a registered
team but no sponsor if the deal fell through. If the UCI refuses to
recognise the team, the project will simply be put on hold for a year,
though that means some riders would probably leave the team, but Martinez
is calm at the prospect.